


First Conversation

by ashara_tahnn



Series: The Maverick and The Negotiator [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, I'm Bad At Titles, Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament, Obi-Wan Kenobi Getting Bullied, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Obi-Wan Kenobi is Perfect But He's Still Really Self-Depreciatory, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon is Awkward, Soresu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28596507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashara_tahnn/pseuds/ashara_tahnn
Summary: In which Qui-Gon officially meets Obi-Wan and decides to take him on as his padawan. Becuase the Force said so. And because Obi-Wan is irresistable.or Qui-Gon's first converstion with Obi-Wan (leads to stuff happening).Set when Obi-Wan was almost 13
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: The Maverick and The Negotiator [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093769
Comments: 6
Kudos: 122





	First Conversation

Most children would consider their thirteenth lifeday something to look forward to. For Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, the upcoming event was a source of dread and shame. He had yet to be chosen as a padawan, which meant in a few weeks time he would be shipped out to the Jedi Service Corps. He was the oldest initiate in the creche; all of his friends, Bant Eerin, Garen Muln, Reeft, Siri Tachi, even rambunctious Quinlan Vos had been taken on as padawans, but Obi-Wan had been passed over. The crechemasters didn’t give this much thought; he had never complained even once, so they assumed that he did not mind. This, of course, was not the case, but Obi-Wan had unusually strong shields for his age, so no one knew how much it hurt him.

* * *

The annual Apprentice Tournament was in a few days, so today’s lightsaber combat class was freeform to allow the initiates and padawans to practice. Newly-knighted Kit Fisto was helping Battlemaster Cin Drallig oversee the class. The Nautolan weaved his way through the training dojo, watching the young jedi spar and practice katas. He was heading back to the front of the room when a small figure in the corner caught his eye. A small human boy with ginger hair was practicing Soresu level eleven, a kata that most Jedi weren’t taught until senior padawanship. Curious, Kit walked over to Master Drallig.

“That boy in the corner there,” Kit asked with a small gesture, “Who is he?”

“Hmm?” Cin looked away from a young Wookie. “Oh, that would be Obi-Wan Kenobi. He’s an initiate in the Dragon Clan.”

“An initiate? Practicing Level 11 of Soresu?” Kit mused, stygian eyes widening.

“Yes. I was somewhat surprised too, but he has perfected all of Shii-Cho already and several levels of Ataru as well...” Cin was about to say more, but then a small squabble broke out nearby and he had to walk away.

After a minute more of watching Obi-Wan practice, Kit walked over to the boy. He waited until Obi-Wan finished the kata before speaking.

“May I join you?” Kit asked politely.

Obi-Wan jumped, his cheeks turning slightly pink at being startled. He quickly recovered himself and bowed, but his expression was puzzled.  
“Master Fisto?”

Kit continued as he would speak to an equal. “May I spar a round with you, Initiate Kenobi?”

Kit smiled inwardly at the look of awed incredulity on Obi-Wan’s face, but kept his own expression politely serious. 

“Of- of course, Master Fisto.” Obi-Wan stammered, “I would be honored.”

The pair bowed to each other as custom dictated, and took up their starting positions. Obi-Wan settled with some familiarity into the Soresu position, and Kit raised his emerald lightsaber in the Niman stance, rather than his usual Shii-Cho. Kit made the first move, an upwards slice at Obi-Wan’s left side, and the duel began. 

Kit quickly realized that he had seriously underestimated his opponent. At first, Obi-Wan had been a bit hesitant, but once he settled into the rhythm of the duel he was extremely skilled for his age and he knew how to use his small size to his advantage. Kit was still undoubtedly the better warrior, but because he was using a less-familiar form, the pair was surprisingly well-matched.

As the duel continued, several apprentices stopped their own exercises to watch. Normally, any size of audience would have made Obi-Wan nervous, but he had sunk into a light meditative trance, oblivious to everything except his opponent.

Block, strike, twist, block, the duel wore on.

Strike, duck, block, dodge, they kept fighting, until...

All at once, it was over.

Both lightsabers hovered just inches from their respective opponent’s neck. A tie.

For a moment, they both just stood there, panting, then Obi-Wan’s expression turned to one of shock and he quickly deactivated his own ‘saber. With a small laugh, Kit followed suit.

“Thank you for the lesson, Initiate Kenobi.” He said with a smile and a bow. “I look forward to our next meeting.” 

Obi-Wan bowed back, his eyes wide, too surprised to reply.

* * *

Qui-Gon Jinn thought that he would never take on another padawan. Not after what had happened with Xanatos. Fortunately for the galaxy, the Force had other plans. 

Qui-Gon was standing on an observation platform, watching the Apprentice Tournament, when he felt a small nudge from the Force. He shifted his gaze to the front of the spacious room to see a small figure dressed in the creamy white of initiate’s robes duelling a padawan nearly twice his size. And winning.

Qui-Gon’s eyebrows shot up as the small, russet-haired boy performed a complex maneuver from the tenth level of Soresu with some familiarity to his movements. Without knowing exactly why he did it, he quickly scanned his tournament datapad to find the initiate’s info.

**_#1283_ **  
**_Name: Kenobi, Obi-Wan_ **  
**_Gender: Male_ **  
**_Age: 12_ **  
**_Species: Human, Stewjoni_ **  
**_Rank: Initiate_ **  
**_Guardian: Master Jalirra Oniki, Dragon Clan_ **

The name Obi-Wan niggled at the back of Qui-Gon’s mind, but he shrugged it off without too much thought. He knew that the data was purely for identification purposes, but a part of him was still a bit annoyed at the unhelpfulness of the information.

To his surprise, when looked up from the datapad, he saw the young boy lowering his training ‘saber from his opponent’s throat, and the large scoreboard blinking as O. Kenobi moved up in rank. Qui-Gon’s gaze turned sour, however, when he saw his opponent raise his chin and make a short comment, rather than bowing as was customary. Qui-Gon could not possibly hear the exchange, but at the older boy’s words, Initiate Kenobi seemed to visibly shrink. Seemingly pleased with Kenobi’s reaction, the padawan tossed his head and marched away.

When one of the Tournament coordinators began to usher Kenobi towards his next opponent, he gave a small shake of his head, bowed politely, and left the room as quickly as he could without fleeing. A voice in Qui-Gon’s head urged him to follow the initiate.

_But I’m an assistant judge, I have responsibilities, and I have no real reason to leave. The logical part of him reasoned._

_Responsibilities?_ The much larger, maverick side of his brain replied, _Since when has that ever stopped me? I’ve been spending too much time with Mace._ But then another coordinator called his name, and his logical side won out. Still, he was left with a nagging feeling that the exchange he had just witnessed was more significant than a simple matter of hurt pride and hurt feelings.

* * *

Later that day, when Qui-Gon spotted the young initiate from earlier meditating in the gardens, he was hardly even surprised.

 _The Force works in mysterious ways_. He thought wryly.

Deciding to observe for a while before making any reckless decisions, he settled himself on a rock just a few yards away from where the boy sat. There were faint tear streaks on his cheeks, most likely from the exchange Qui-Gon had witnessed at the Tournament. He'd have to remember to ask about that later.

When Qui-Gon sank into a light meditative trance, he was immediately shocked by how bright the boy’s presence in the Force was. He was so warm, pure, and full of Light, something about him just felt… right.

A small voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Mace Windu whispered ‘I told you so’. _Oh shut up._

When he opened his eyes, he found the boy looking at him, his expression a half-veiled mixture of curiosity and confusion. Qui-Gon smiled.

“Hello there. My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. And, you are—?” He asked casually.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master.” A hint of a Stewjoni accent could be heard beneath the boy’s polished Coruscanti inflection.

“I saw you at the Tournament earlier today. You duel very well for an initiate.” 

Obi-Wan’s confused expression only lasted a moment before it was replaced by understanding and, oddly, embarrassment. 

“Thank you, Master Jinn.” 

Qui-Gon noticed the slightly resigned tone and caught a stray thought through Obi-Wan’s surprisingly strong shields.

_A lot of good that’ll do me in the Service Corps..._

Obi-Wan seemed to realize that Qui-Gon had sensed the thought, because his eyes widened slightly and he blushed. 

“May I ask why you are so certain you will be sent to the Service Corps?” Qui-Gon asked mildly.

Obi-Wan looked down at his hands. “I turn thirteen in a week.” He said simply, his voice quiet.

Qui-Gon’s heart broke at how dejected the young boy sounded, but that only made him more resolved to say what he was going to say next.

“It wouldn’t take me nearly that long to decide to take you as my padawan.”

A beat.

Obi-Wan looked up, his ocean blue eyes wide. Suddenly, an image of a curious crecheling floated across Qui-Gon’s mind, and he realized why he had recognized Obi-Wan’s name. He smiled slightly at the memory.

Obi-Wan sounded almost fearful when he stammered, “You mean… you... you want to be my master?”

When Qui-Gon nodded his assent, Obi-Wan did the impossible. 

His eyes got even wider.

**Author's Note:**

> *crawls out from beneath rock*  
> *leaves this here*  
> *scampers back underneath rock*
> 
> I really suck at endings. This fic is sort of just a set up for the next one, so its not my best work. I promise the next one will be better. (hopefully)


End file.
